Dumpster Fire, Constitutional Crisis, or Perhaps Just Business as Usual

Say what one will about our still-new President (and I will), there appear to be very few among the chattering class who hold a “neutral” view about him. A little over 100 days into his administration and certain corners are already routinely beating the drum of impeachment. And the ink spilled over the Comey firing and recent reports concerning what was either a benign discussion of known intelligence information (from one perspective) or the revealing of “highly classified information” to his Russian puppet masters (from another) suggest that the fever pitch of commentary is not going to be lowering in volume any time soon.

And yet, if one sets both ends of the partisan hyperbole aside, a funny thing appears to be happening on the way to the dumpster fire which is purportedly the Trump Administration – governance. For example, while conservatives may be chafed by having to accept Alexander Acosta in lieu of the more ideologue burger exec Andrew Puzder at the head of the Department of Labor, the much maligned “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order” is already history. Many expect that the even more maligned, revised and expanded EEO-1 form (requiring reporting of pay data) is likely to end up in the dust bin this summer. Similarly, the legislative wrangling around the Affordable Care Act continues apace as well.

On judicial appointments, seen by many as one of the signature issues of the campaign, Trump is also widely perceived as delivering on his promises. With the judicial filibuster having been “nuked” to clear the path for Neil Gorsuch to join the U.S. Supreme Court, Trump has been active in identifying slates of candidates for lower court benches. Last week, the White House announced Trump’s “third wave” of judicial appointments (following Gorsuch and the nomination of Judge Amul R. Thapar of Kentucky to serve as a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit). Notably, two of the ten nominees – Professor Amy Coney Barrett of Notre Dame University Law School and Justice Joan Larsen of the Michigan Supreme Court – are former law clerks of the late-Justice Antonin Scalia, and another – David Stras of the Minnesota Supreme Court – was a clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas. Of course, not everyone is pleased with the selections, but we do seem to have come a long way from thoughts of nominating his sister to the high court.

While I’m not one to believe that Trump (or his predecessor for that matter) is a master of three-dimensional political chess, which the rest of us rubes simply can’t comprehend, sometimes the allegedly oncoming dumpster fire or ill-conceived tweet looks an awful lot like “stray voltage.” Or, rather, business as usual in Washington, D.C.

About the Author:

David Warner
Partner
David Warner is a seasoned legal counselor with extensive experience in the resolution and litigation of complex employment and business disputes. His practice is focused on the government contractor, nonprofit, and hospitality industries. David leads Centre’s audit, investigation, and litigation practices.